Voyages of Samuel De Champlain Volume I Part 11

pressing the matter so far that Champlain felt compelled to remonstrate against a demand so extraordinary and so obviously unjust, as he was in no sense a prisoner of war, and likewise to state his inability to pay a ransom, as his whole estate in France did not exceed seven hundred pounds sterling.

After having remained a month in London, Champlain was permitted to depart for France, arriving on the last day of December.

At Dieppe he met Captain Daniel, from whom he learned that Richelieu and the Hundred a.s.sociates had not been unmindful of the pressing wants of their colony at Quebec. Arrangements had been made early in the year 1629 to send to Champlain succor and supplies, and a fleet had been organized to be conducted thither by the Commander Isaac de Razilly. While preparations were in progress, peace was concluded between France and England on the 24th of April. It was, consequently, deemed unnecessary to accompany the transports by an armed force, and thereupon Razilly's orders were countermanded, while Captain Daniel of Dieppe, [107] whose services had been engaged, was sent forward with four vessels and a barque belonging to the company, to carry supplies to Quebec. A storm scattered his fleet, but the vessel under his immediate command arrived on the coast of the Island of Cape Breton, and anch.o.r.ed on the 18th of September, _novo stylo_, in the little harbor of Baleine, situated about six miles easterly from the present site of Louisburgh, now famous in the annals of that island. Here he was surprised to find a British settlement. Lord Ochiltrie, better known as Sir James Stuart, a Scottish n.o.bleman, had obtained a grant, through Sir William Alexander, of the Island of Cape Breton, and had, on the 10th of the July preceding, _novo stylo_, planted there a colony of sixty persons, men, women, and children, and had thrown up for their protection a temporary fort. Daniel considered this an intrusion upon French soil. He accordingly made a bloodless capture of the fortress at Baleine, demolished it, and, sailing to the north and sweeping round to the west, entered an estuary which he says the savages called Grand Cibou? [108] where he erected a fort and left a garrison of forty men, with provisions and all necessary means of defence. Having set up the arms of the King of France and those of Cardinal Richelieu, erected a house, chapel, and magazine, and leaving two Jesuit missionaries, the fathers Barthelemy Vimond and Alexander de Vieuxpont, he departed, taking with him the British colonists, forty-two of whom he landed near Falmouth in England, and eighteen, including Lord Ochiltrie, he carried into France. This settlement at the Bay of St. Anne, or Port Dauphin, accidentally established and inadequately sustained, lingered a few years and finally disappeared.

Having received the above narrative from Captain Daniel, Champlain soon after proceeded to Paris, and laid the whole subject of the unwarrantable proceedings of the English in detail before the king, Cardinal Richelieu, and the Company of New France, and urged the importance of regaining possession as early as possible of the plantation from which they had been unjustly ejected. The English king did not hesitate at an early day to promise the restoration of Quebec, and, in fact, after some delay, all places which were occupied by the French at the outbreak of the war. The policy of the English ministers appears, however, to have been to postpone the execution of this promise as long as possible, probably with the hope that something might finally occur to render its fulfilment unnecessary.

Sir William Alexander, the Earl of Stirling, who had very great influence with Charles I, was particularly opposed to the restoration of the settlement on the sh.o.r.es of Annapolis Basin. This fell within the limits of the grant made to him in 1621, under the name of New Scotland, and a Scotch colony was now in occupation. He contended that no proper French plantation existed there at the opening of the war, and this was probably true; a few French people were, indeed, living there, but under no recognized, certainly no actual, authority or control of the crown of France, and consequently they were under no obligation to restore it. But Charles I had given his word that all places taken by the English should be restored as they were before the war, and no argument or persuasions could change his resolution to fulfil his promise. It was not, however, till after the lapse of more than two years, owing, chiefly, to the opposition of Sir William Alexander, that the restoration of Quebec and the plantation on Annapolis Basin was fully a.s.sured by the treaty of St Germain en Laye, bearing date March 29, 1632. The reader must be reminded that the text of the treaty just mentioned and numerous contemporary doc.u.ments show that the restorations demanded by the French and granted by the English only related to the places occupied by the French before the outbreak of the war, and not to Canada or New France or to any large extent of provincial territory whatever. [109] When the restorations were completed, the boundary lines distinguishing the English and French possessions in America were still unsettled, the territorial rights of both nations were still undefined, and each continued, as they had done before the war, to claim the same territory as a part of their respective possessions. Historians, giving to this treaty a superficial examination, and not considering it in connection with contemporary doc.u.ments, have, from that time to the present, fallen into the loose and unauthorized statement that, by the treaty of St.

Germain en Laye, the whole domain of Canada or New France was restored to the French. Had the treaty of St. Germain en Laye, by which Quebec was restored to the French, fixed accurately the boundary lines between the two countries, it would probably have saved the expenditure of money and blood, which continued to be demanded from time to time until, after a century and a quarter, the whole of the French possessions were transferred, under the arbitration of war, to the English crown.

ENDNOTES:

95. The a.s.sociation was a joint-stock company Each corporator was bound to pay in three thousand livres, and as there were over a hundred, the quick capital amounted to over 300,000 livres--_Vide Mercure Francois_, Paris, 1628, Tome XIV. p 250. For a full statement of the organization and const.i.tution of the Company of New France, _Vide Mercure Francois_, Tome XIV pp 232-267 _Vide_ also _Charlevoix's Hist. New France_, Shea's Trans Vol. II. pp. 39-44.

96. _Vide Sir William Alexander and American Colonization_, Prince Society, Boston, 1873.

97. _Vide Colonial Papers_, Vol. V. 87, III. We do not find the mention of any others as belonging to the Company of Merchant Adventurers to Canada.

98. Sir David Kirke was one of five brothers, the sons of Gervase or Gervais Kirke, a merchant of London, and his wife, Elizabeth Goudon of Dieppe in France. The grandfather of Sir David was Thurston Kirke of Norton, a small town in the northern part of the county of Derby, known as the birthplace of the sculptor Chantrey. This little hamlet had been the home of the Kirkes for several generations. Gervase Kirke had, in 1629, resided in Dieppe for the most of the forty years preceding, and his children were probably born there. Sir David Kirke was married to Sarah, daughter of Sir Joseph Andrews. In early life he was a wine- merchant at Bordeaux and Cognac. He was knighted by Charles I in 1633, in recognition of his services in taking Quebec. On the 13th of November, 1637, he received a grant of "the whole continent, island, or region called Newfoundland." In 1638, he took up his residence at Ferryland, Newfoundland, in the house built by Lord Baltimore. He was a friend and correspondent of Archbishop Laud, to whom he wrote, in 1639, "That the ayre of Newfoundland agrees perfectly well with all G.o.d's creatures, except Jesuits and schismatics." He remained in Newfoundland nearly twenty years, where he died in 1655-56, having experienced many disappointments occasioned by his loyalty to Charles I.--_Vide Colonial Papers_, Vol. IX. No. 76; _The First English Conquest of Canada_, by Henry Kirke, London, 1871, _pa.s.sim; Les Voyages du Sieur de Champlain_, Paris ed. 1632, p. 257.

99. Champlain criticises with merited severity the conduct of De Roquemont, and closes in the following words "Le merite d'un bon Capitaine n'est pas seulement au courage, mais il doit estre accompagne de prudence, qui est ce qui les fait estimer, comme estant suiuy de ruses, stratagesmes, & d'inventions plusieurs auec peu ont beaucoup fait, & se sont rendus glorieux & redoutables"--_Vide Les Voyages du Sieur de Champlain_, ed 1632, part II p. 166.

100. On the 13th of March, 1629, letters of marque were issued to Capt.

David Kirke, Thomas Kirke, and others, in favor of the "Abigail," 300 tons, the "William," 200 tons, the "George" of London, and the "Jarvis."

101. This correspondence is preserved by Champlain.--_Vide Les Voyages par le Sieur de Champlain_, Paris, 1632, pp. 215-219.

102. _Vide Abstract of the Deposition of Capt. David Kirke and others_.

Calendar of State Papers, Colonial, 1574-1660, p. 103.

103. _Couillard_ Champlain writes _Coulart_ This appears to have been William Couillard, the son in-law of Madame Hebert and one of the five families which remained at Quebec after it was taken by the English--_Vide Laverdiere's note, Oeuvres de Champlain_, Quebec ed Vol. VI p. 249.

104. An English translation of this charter from the Latin original was published by the Prince Society in 1873 _Vide Sir William Alexander and American Colonization_, Prince Society, Boston, pp. 239-249.

105. Champlain published, in 1632, a brief argument setting forth the claims of the French, which he ent.i.tles. _Abrege des Descouuertures de la Nouuelle France, tant de ce que nous auons descouuert comme aussi les Anglais, depuis les Virgines iusqu'au Freton Dauis, & de cequ'eux & nous pouuons pretendre suiuant le rapport des Historiens qui en ont descrit, que ie rapporte cy dessous, qui feront iuger un chacun du tout sans pa.s.sion.--Vide_ ed. 1632, p. 290. In this paper he narrates succinctly the early discoveries made both by the French and English navigators, and enforces the doctrine of the superior claims of the French with clearness and strength. It contains, probably, the substance of what Champlain placed at this time in the hands of the French emba.s.sador in London.

106. It is difficult to conceive on what ground this ransom was demanded since the whole proceedings of the English against Quebec were illegal, and contrary to the articles of peace which had just been concluded. That such a demand was made would be regarded as incredible, did not the fact rest upon doc.u.mentary evidence of undoubted authority.--_Vide Laverdiere's_ citation from State Papers Office, Vol. V. No. 33. Oeuvres de Champlain, Quebec ed, Vol. VI. p 1413.

107. _Vide Relation du Voyage fait par le Capitaine Daniel de Dieppe, annee 1629, Les Voyages du Sieur de Champlain_, Paris, 1632, p. 271. Captain Daniel was enrolled by Creuxius in the Society of New France or the Hundred a.s.sociates, as _Carolus Daniel, nauticus Capitaneus_. _Vide Historia Canadensis_ for the names of the Society of the Hundred a.s.sociates.

108. _Cibou_. Sometimes written Chibou. "Cibou means," says Mr. J. Hammond Trumball, "simply river in all eastern Algonkin languages."--_MS.

letter_. Nicholas Denys, in his very full itinerary of the coast of the island of Cape Breton speaks also of the _entree du pet.i.t Chibou ou de Labrador_. This _pet.i.t Chibou_, according to his description, is identical with what is now known as the Little Bras d'Or, or smaller pa.s.sage to Bras d'Or Lake. It seems probable that the great Cibou of the Indians was applied originally by them to what we now call the Great Bras d'Or, or larger pa.s.sage to Bras d'Or Lake. It is plain, however, that Captain Daniel and other early writers applied it to an estuary or bay a little further west than the Great Bras d'Or, separated from it by Cape Dauphin, and now known as St. Anne's Bay. It took the name of St. Anne's immediately on the planting of Captain Daniel's colony, as Champlain calls it, _l'habitation saincte Anne en l'ile du Cap Breton_ in his relation of what took place in 1631.--_Voyages_, ed. 1632, p. 298. A very good description of it by Pere Perrault may be found in _Jesuit Relations_, 1635, Quebec ed p.

42.--_Vide_, also, _Description de l'Amerique Septentrionale par Monsieur Denys_, Paris, 1672, p. 155, where is given an elaborate description of St Anne's Harbor. _Gransibou_ may be seen on Champlain's map of 1632, but the map is too indefinite to aid us in fixing its exact location.

109. _Vide Sir William Alexander and American Colonization_, Prince Society, 1873, pp. 66-72.--_Royal Letters, Charters, and Tracts relating to the Colonisation of New Scotland_, Bannatyne Club, Edinburgh, 1867, p. 77 _et pa.s.sim_.

CHAPTER XI.

eMERIC DE CAEN TAKES POSSESSION OF QUEBEC.--CHAMPLAIN PUBLISHES HIS VOYAGES.--RETURNS TO NEW FRANCE, REPAIRS THE HABITATION, AND ERECTS A CHAPEL.--HIS LETTER TO CARDINAL DE RICHELIEU.--CHAMPLAIN'S DEATH.

In breaking up the settlement at Quebec, the losses of the De Caens were considerable, and it was deemed an act of justice to allow them an opportunity to retrieve them, at least in part; and, to enable them to do this, the monopoly of the fur-trade in the Gulf of St. Lawrence was granted to them for one year, and, on the retirement of the English, emeric de Caen, as provisional governor for that period, took formal possession of Quebec on the 13th of July, 1632. In the mean time, Champlain remained in France, devoting himself with characteristic energy to the interests of New France. Beside the valuable counsel and aid which he gave regarding the expedition then fitting out and to be sent to Quebec by the Company of New France, he prepared and carried through the press an edition of his Voyages, comprising extended extracts from what he had already published, and a continuation of the narrative to 1631. He also published in the same volume a Treatise on Navigation, and a Catechism translated from the French by one of the Fathers into the language of the Montagnais. [110]

On the 23d of March, 1633, having again been commissioned as governor, Champlain sailed from Dieppe with a fleet of three vessels, the "Saint Pierre," the "Saint Jean," and the "Don de Dieu," belonging to the Company of New France, conveying to Quebec a large number of colonists, together with the Jesuit fathers, Enemond Ma.s.se and Jean de Brebeuf. The three vessels entered the harbor of Quebec on the 23d of May. On the announcement of Champlain's arrival, the little colony was all astir. The cannon at the Fort St. Louis boomed forth their hoa.r.s.e welcome of his coming. The hearts of all, particularly of those who had remained at Quebec during the occupation of the English, were overflowing with joy. The three years'

absence of their now venerable and venerated governor, and the trials, hardships, and discouragements through which they had in the mean time pa.s.sed, had not effaced from their minds the virtues that endeared him to their hearts. The memory of his tender solicitude in their behalf, his brave example of endurance in the hour of want and peril, and the sweetness of his parting counsels, came back afresh to awaken in them new pulsations of grat.i.tude. Champlain's heart was touched by his warm reception and the visible proofs of their love and devotion. This was a bright and happy day in the calendar of the little colony.

Champlain addressed himself with his old zeal and a renewed strength to every interest that promised immediate or future good results. He at once directed the renovation and improvement of the habitation and fort, which, after an occupation of three years by aliens, could not be delayed. He then inst.i.tuted means, holding councils and creating a new trading-post, for winning back the traffic of the allied tribes, which had been of late drawn away by the English, who continued to steal into the waters of the St.

Lawrence for that purpose. At an early day after his re-establishment of himself at Quebec, Champlain proceeded to build a memorial chapel in close proximity to the fort which he had erected some years before on the crest of the rocky eminence that overlooks the harbor. He gave it the appropriate and significant name, NOTRE DAME DE RECOUVRANCE, in grateful memory of the recent return of the French to New France. [111] It had long been an ardent desire of Champlain to establish a French settlement among the Hurons, and to plant a mission there for the conversion of this favorite tribe to the Christian faith. Two missionaries, De Brebeuf and De Noue, were now ready for the undertaking. The governor spared no pains to secure for them a favorable reception, and vigorously urged the importance of their mission upon the Hurons a.s.sembled at Quebec. [112] But at the last, when on the eve of securing his purpose, complications arose and so much hostility was displayed by one of the chiefs, that he thought it prudent to advise its postponement to a more auspicious moment. With these and kindred occupations growing out of the responsibilities of his charge, two years soon pa.s.sed away.

During the summer of 1635, Champlain addressed an interesting and important letter to Cardinal de Richelieu, whose authority at that time shaped both the domestic and foreign policy of France. In it the condition and imperative wants of New France are clearly set forth. This doc.u.ment was probably the last that Champlain ever penned, and is, perhaps, the only autograph letter of his now extant. His views of the richness and possible resources of the country, the vast missionary field which it offered, and the policy to be pursued, are so clearly stated that we need offer no apology for giving the following free translation of the letter in these pages. [113]

LETTER OF CHAMPLAIN TO CARDINAL DE RICHELIEU.

MONSEIGNEUR,--The honor of the commands that I have received from your Eminence has inspired me with greater courage to render to you every possible service with all the fidelity and affection that can be desired from a faithful servant. I shall spare neither my blood nor my life whenever the occasion shall demand them.

There are subjects enough in these regions, if your Eminence, after considering the character of the country, shall desire to extend your authority over them. This territory is more than fifteen hundred leagues in length, lying between the same parallels of lat.i.tude as our own France. It is watered by one of the finest rivers in the world, into which empty many tributaries more than four hundred leagues in length, beautifying a country inhabited by a vast number of tribes. Some of them are sedentary in their mode of life, possessing, like the Muscovites, towns and villages built of wood; others are nomadic, hunters and fishermen, all longing to welcome the French and religious fathers, that they may be instructed in our faith.

The excellence of this country cannot be too highly estimated or praised, both as to the richness of the soil, the diversity of the timber such as we have in France, the abundance of wild animals, game, and fish, which are of extraordinary magnitude. All this invites you, Monseigneur, and makes it seem as if G.o.d had created you above all your predecessors to do a work here more pleasing to Him than any that has yet been accomplished.

For thirty years I have frequented this country, and have acquired a thorough knowledge of it, obtained from my own observation and the information given me by the native inhabitants. Monseigneur, I pray you to pardon my zeal, if I say that, after your renown has spread throughout the East, you should end by compelling its recognition in the West.

Expelling the English from Quebec has been a very important beginning, but, nevertheless, since the treaty of peace between the two crowns, they have returned to carry on trade and annoy us in this river; declaring that it was enjoined upon them to withdraw, but not to remain away, and that they have their king's permission to come for the period of thirty years. But, if your Eminence wills, you can make them feel the power of your authority.

This can, furthermore, be extended at your pleasure to him who has come here to bring about a general peace among these peoples, who are at war with a nation holding more than four hundred leagues in subjection, and who prevent the free use of the rivers and highways. If this peace were made, we should be in complete and easy enjoyment of our possessions. Once established in the country, we could expel our enemies, both English and Flemings, forcing them to withdraw to the coast, and, by depriving them of trade with the Iroquois, oblige them to abandon the country entirely. It requires but one hundred and twenty men, light-armed for avoiding arrows, by whose aid, together with two or three thousand savage warriors, our allies, we should be, within a year, absolute masters of all these peoples, and, by establishing order among them, promote religious worship and secure an incredible amount of traffic.

The country is rich in mines of copper, iron, steel, bra.s.s, silver, and other minerals which may be found here.

The cost, Monseigneur, of one hundred and twenty men is a trifling one to his Majesty, the enterprise the most n.o.ble that can be imagined.

All for the glory of G.o.d, whom I pray with my whole heart to grant you ever-increasing prosperity, and to make me, all my life, Monseigneur,

Your most humble, Most faithful, and Most obedient servant, CHAMPLAIN.

AT QUEBEC, IN NEW FRANCE, the 15th of August, 1635.

In this letter will be found the key to Champlain's war-policy with the Iroquois, no where else so fully unfolded. We shall refer to this subject in the sequel.

Early in October, when the harvest of the year had ripened and been gathered in, and the leaves had faded and fallen, and the earth was mantled in the symbols of general decay, in sympathy with all that surrounded him, in his chamber in the little fort on the crest of the rocky promontory at Quebec, lay the manly form of Champlain, smitten with disease, which was daily breaking down the vigor and strength of his iron const.i.tution. From loving friends he received the ministrations of tender and a.s.siduous care.

But his earthly career was near its end. The bowl had been broken at the fountain. Life went on ebbing away from week to week. At the end of two months and a half, on Christmas day, the 25th of December, 1635, his spirit pa.s.sed to its final rest.

This otherwise joyous festival was thus clouded with a deep sorrow. No heart in the little colony was untouched by this event. All had been drawn to Champlain, so many years their chief magistrate and wise counsellor, by a spontaneous and irresistible respect, veneration, and love. It was meet, as it was the universal desire, to crown him, in his burial, with every honor which, in their circ.u.mstances, they could bestow. The whole population joined in a mournful procession. His spiritual adviser and friend, Father Charles Lalemant, performed in his behalf the last solemn service of the church. Father Paul Le Jeune p.r.o.nounced a funeral discourse, reciting his virtues, his fidelity to the king and the Company of New France, his extraordinary love and devotion to the families of the colony, and his last counsels for their continued happiness and welfare. [114]

When these ceremonies were over his body was piously and tenderly laid to rest, and soon after a tomb was constructed for its reception expressly in his honor as the benefactor of New France. [115] The place of his burial [116] was within the little chapel subsequently erected, and which was reverently called _La Chapelle de M. de Chiamplain_, in grateful memory of him whose body reposed beneath its sheltering walls.

ENDNOTES:

110. This catechism, bearing the following t.i.tle, is contained on fifteen pages in the ed. of 1632: _Doctrine Chrestienne, du R. P. Ledesme de la Compagnie de Jesus. Traduite en Langage Canadois, autre que celuy des Montagnars, pour la Conversion des habitans dudit pays. Par le R.

P. Breboeuf de la mesme Compagnie_. It is in double columns, one side Indian and the other French.